


Babysitting

by Houseofhaleth



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Gondolin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-09
Packaged: 2018-01-18 18:39:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1438687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Houseofhaleth/pseuds/Houseofhaleth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Salgant is slightly alarmed when Idril leaves little Eärendil in his care for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Babysitting

She was quick, but she’d underestimated how fast he could be when panicked. Salgant reached the door first, and blocked it.

‘My Lady…are you _sure?’_ he said, putting every hint of pleading he could into his expression. 

‘Positive,’ said Idril. 

‘No but…’ 

‘I trust you, Salgant,’ she told him. 

‘…why?’ he asked, desperation stripping all of his usual charm and eloquence. 

‘A mother’s intuition,’ she said. Before he could stop her, she’d slipped out of the door, and was standing on the step. ‘I’ll be back in an hour. Have fun.’ 

‘I don’t want…’ 

It was useless. She could definitely hear him, but she was pretending not to, and he could hardly run out of the house and leave…oh grief-

He jogged back down the corridor, sweat already soaking his collar. He caught himself in the doorway of the drawing room-

Eärendil was still lying in the middle of the rug, curling his short fingers through the fur. He looked up at Salgant, and grinned. ‘Soft!’ 

‘It’s a mountain sheep,’ said Salgant, uncertainly. _I’ll only be gone an hour, Idril had said. Stop looking so scared, Eärendil adores you. You’ll be good for each other._

The boy had a nurse, why was she dropping her child on a Lord of the city to play childminding – did Tuor know? 

‘Sheep,’ said Eärendil. He then made a surprisingly convincing sheep noise. 

‘That’s right,’ Salgant agreed. ‘Clever boy.’ I don’t think we know enough animal noises to last us an hour, oh mercy _…But what do I do with him?_ He’d asked Idril, as she kissed her son goodbye and stood up. 

_The same thing you do with him while I’m here. You’re wonderful with him, just talk and play with him,_ she’d said, as if it were that easy. 

Talk about what, Salgant wondered. What did he usually talk to people about – wine vintages? Gossip and rumour-mongering? Food? Satirical anecdotes about the other Lords? Veiled mockery of one party for the benefit of the others? Drunken honesty? 

_He’s three years old, Salgant, you can talk to him about virtually any damn thing, and it’s new and fascinating to him. Talk to him about colours, or animals, or how you make food, and he’ll have a thousand questions._ Idril hadn’t seemed to understand-

‘I like a sheep,’ Eärendil announced. 

‘You like…this sheep rug? Or all sheep? Or another particular sheep?’ Salgant asked, wondering where this conversation was going. 

Eärendil thought about this. 

‘I like a sheep. And a fishes. What do you like?’ 

‘Well,’ said Salgant. ‘With a fine parsley sauce, fish is one of my favourite dishes, when we can get it.’ 

Then he cringed. _This is exactly why I should not be left alone with a child-_

‘Don’t like eating fishes,’ said Eärendil. 

‘Do you like cake? I can get you some cake…’ that will fill at least five minutes. 

‘No,’ said Eärendil. 

‘…why not?’ _Oh come on, what kind of child doesn’t want cake!! I want cake…_

‘I’m full up. Can we play a game?’ 

‘What game?’ Salgant asked, cautiously. 

Eärendil took hold of his hand. ‘I’ll tell you,’ he said, confidently. 

***** 

Exactly an hour later, there was a knock on the drawing room door. Salgant’s steward conducted a somewhat unimpressed woman into the room. 

‘Ahhh Meleth,’ said Salgant, greeting Eärendil’s nurse. ‘And what can we do for you?’ 

‘Horses don’t talk!’ Eärendil scolded, from his shoulders. 

‘There you’re quite mistaken, Eärendil, horses can be very talkative once you’ve learned the language,’ said Salgant. 

‘Really?’ the boy said, leaning over his head. 

‘Of course!’ 

‘Nobody can talk to animals without the assistance of the Valar,’ said Meleth. ‘Are you alright, Eärendil?’ 

‘Better check him over, make sure I haven’t damaged him irreparably,’ said Salgant, reaching up to take him down. He nearly choked as Eärendil’s legs wrapped tightly around his neck, and his scalp was wrenched as the boy grabbed chunks of his hair. 

_‘No.’_

‘Eärendil, it’s time to come home now,’ said Meleth, firmly. 

‘Don’t want to!’ 

Half amused and half bewildered, Salgant watched as Meleth attempted threats, bribes, reason, and physical force in turn, while Eärendil slowly went into meltdown at the idea of leaving. 

In the end, Salgant had to walk him home. It was the best way to protect his neck. 

*****

‘He’s clearly wound him up, My Lady,’ said Meleth, in a voice she clearly thought was low enough that Salgant couldn’t hear. Jealousy was a terrible thing, he mused. 

‘Mmm, he has made quite an impression,’ Idril said. ‘Well, Eärendil, what did Meleth tell you to do?’ 

‘Don’t want to!’ Eärendil sobbed. ‘Want to stay with Salgant!’ 

_Children are fickle,_ Salgant told himself. _Anything new, anything exciting or slightly indulgent – of course he’ll want to stay. It’s no reflection on my character._

_So I should probably stop feeling a warm glow of affection. Even if it has been a long time since someone was so vehement that they wanted my company._

‘Well,’ said Idril, in apparent thought. ‘I’m not sure if we can let you visit Salgant again, if you’re not going to be a good, sensible boy when it’s time to come home. Do you want to play with him again?’ 

‘Yes.’ 

‘Then show us what a grown-up young man you can be.’ 

Eärendil seemed to consider this, pout only increasing in size. 

‘Let go of him, and say a nice goodbye,’ said Idril, ‘and you can see him again…when are you free, Salgant?’ 

He meant to say _“well I have a few social engagements, but I think I should have an hour to spare in a few weeks”,_ but what came out was: 

‘Tomorrow.’ 

Idril’s lips twitched. ‘There you are. Have you said thank you, Eärendil?’ 

Slowly, Eärendil let go of his leg. ‘ ‘nkyou,’ he mumbled. 

‘Now say goodbye,’ Idril instructed. 

‘Bye bye, Salgant,’ said Eärendil, somewhat subdued. But it had worked. 

‘See you tomorrow,’ Salgant told him. He’d have to cancel lunch with Egalmoth’s steward. But he found he didn’t have a single regret. The steward wasn’t nearly so keen to talk to him. 

*****

There weren’t a lot of people in the city he could relax with. Even when he’d had too much to drink. Maybe Maeglin. There weren’t a lot of people he was sure weren’t quietly judging him and muttering behind his back. Probably one was supposed to put on a persona with children, a happy-go-lucky, only-talk-about-nice-things persona. But Salgant regularly put on a persona anyway – and the one he used for Eärendil was refreshingly honest. The only thing that stopped him was that he didn’t want to expose the boy to some of the nastier facts of life. But it was wonderfully easy to change the subject. 

And for some mystifying reason, Eärendil really seemed to enjoy his company. Perhaps it was this that made Meleth the nurse relax, and change her opinion of him. She wasn’t as uptight as he’d assumed, and he even managed to keep a straight face the day she confided in him that he wasn’t as irresponsible as _she’d_ assumed. 

‘You keep coming back, I don’t understand it,’ he greeted seven-year-old Eärendil, who grinned. ‘Why?’ 

‘You’re my friend,’ said Eärendil. ‘We have fun. Hey, can we play the game where we hit the apples through the window again?’ 

‘That game is a shameful waste of apples,’ said Salgant disapprovingly. 

Eärendil waited, eyes wide and hopeful. 

‘Alright. Get the bat,’ he said. 

_‘Yusssssss…’_ Eärendil jogged off to find it. 

That was the thing about him. It was painful to disappoint the boy – and he thought, for some reason, that Salgant was a brilliant person. 

It almost made him believe it too. 


End file.
